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But she was used to it. Wasn’t she?
“I just wanted to go over the menu tonight,” Diana eventually said to Rachelle, who bowed her head urgently, ready to listen.
Disaster lurked at the edge of everything that evening. Diana buzzed around the kitchen, barking orders to Rachelle and watching as she made one mistake after another. As soon as Channing Tatum and his date arrived, Paul and Benny lost their heads and started making jokes about Channing Tatum’s iconic film about male exotic dancers. In front of the camera, they imitated Channing Tatum in that film, dancing with their spatulas raised toward the ceiling as Rachelle and Diana attempted to work around them.
Ordinarily, Diana adored Paul and Benny for their good humor and playfulness. But today, she wanted to snap some sense into them.
“Get back to work!” she cried, sounding like the very worst boss ever.
Rachelle was growing frustrated with herself. She fumbled around, muttering angrily when she made more mistakes and looking at Diana bug-eyed and fearfully.
When Diana knew the cameras weren’t on them, she muttered, “Come on, Rachelle. Batten down the hatches.” But this made Rachelle even more nervous and skittish. Her hands were shaking.
Despite her delirium and anger, Diana was still required to head into the main dining room and say hello to Channing Tatum. She smiled and laughed the way she was supposed to; she thanked him for his compliments. And when Channing brought up Ryan and what a “big fan” he was of her husband, Diana laughed girlishly and said, “Ryan is remarkable. He’s certainly cooked me some of the best food of my life.” This wasn’t a lie.
“Where is that husband of yours? Is he back there somewhere? Is he your secret weapon?” Channing asked.
Diana’s smile fell marginally. “I’m on my own tonight. I hope that’s all right with you?”
Channing laughed easily and openly. His muscles bulged, and his eyes flashed. “Of course! It was a fantastic meal, Deena. Ryan taught you well.”
Diana felt as though steam was coming out of her ears. Keep it together, Diana, she urged herself. This man could destroy your career. She thanked him a final time and ducked into her office, where she pressed her hands over her eyes until she saw black spots.
She couldn’t help but picture herself through all the different eras of her cooking career. She couldn’t help but remember every frantic evening, every sharp word from Ryan, every time a producer wanted her to say or do something she didn’t want to. Her heart had been battered and bruised so many times that it now seemed unrecognizable.
At the end of the night, the cameras were still rolling, trying to catch the dynamics between the kitchen staff and waitstaff and hoping to capture Diana scowling at Rachelle or chatting with Eddie. Diana drank a glass of wine and tried to keep her face stoic and calm. She sat many seats away from Rachelle, Eddie, Paul, and several other servers, who continued to refill their glasses of wine as the camera crew lapped up their chaos.
“Come on, Diana,” Eddie goaded, raising their bottle of wine. “Don’t you want to join?”
Diana grimaced. “I have to wake up early tomorrow.”
“For what?” Eddie demanded flirtatiously. “Come on. Give me one good reason you can’t drink with us.”
Beside Eddie, Rachelle shriveled up with fear and jealousy and sipped her drink.
“I have work to do,” Diana said to Eddie, practically snapping at him. She then slid off her stool and disappeared into her office.
Probably, the camera crew would lap that up and use it to illustrate how “jealous” Rachelle and Diana were of one another. Diana hung her head. What could she do? She felt helpless.
Diana decided to text Rachelle a warning. It was the last thing she could do that wasn’t cinematic or interesting to the viewers at home. Rachelle could read her text and decide what to do with the information on her own.
DIANA: Hey, Rachelle. Today was a rough day for all of us.
DIANA: I just wanted to say… I know what you’re going through. I know how difficult it is to focus on your work as the world tunes in. Everyone has their own opinions about you. Everyone is building a narrative of you that has nothing to do with the real you.
DIANA: I just hope you know how talented you are. I hope you know to stay focused on your culinary journey. There are people in your life—men—who want to belittle you. Who don’t know how talented you really are. Who are using you for the fame you bring them.
DIANA: Don’t let them dim your light.
Her heart pounded as she watched her screen, waiting for Rachelle to read the messages. She tried to put herself in Rachelle’s shoes. What would she have thought if someone had tried to warn her about Ryan? Then again, there hadn’t been anyone around who knew any better. Most of the producers and the camera crew had been men. Ryan’s subtle manipulations hadn’t even been on their radar.
Rachelle’s text came a second later.
RACHELLE: Hey. Thanks for your words. I’ve loved working in the kitchen with you. And I definitely had an off day today. I’m sorry about that. It won’t happen again.
RACHELLE: But, yeah. Regarding the “men in my life.” I guess I appreciate you watching out for me. But—I’m sorry to say, I don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
RACHELLE: Have a great night. I’m heading home.
